The fraud gang made a fortune conning thousands of family-run and larger businesses into paying for advertising in bogus publications which they claimed were widely distributed.

Audio released by Merseyside Police of two calls laid bare the forceful techniques the gang used, including posing as the police to win over trust (click above to listen ).

They even dared to threaten legal action against people who complained.

Weinstein Williams Associates cold-called people from all over the United Kingdom, claiming they were endorsed by emergency services in order to place paid adverts in their fake magazine

Five men were today sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court, including Williams, of Linacre Road, Litherland, who earned £2,000 a week and “lived an extremely high brow life”, splashing out on flash cars, boats and property, was jailed for seven years.

Also convicted after admitting fraud offences were ‘sales reps’:

Ronnie Lloyd, 45, of Meddowcroft Road, Wallasey, who was jailed for one year.

Anthony O’Neill, 41, of no fixed address, who was handed a suspended seven-month sentence:

George Randles, 48, of Grosvenor Court, Prescot, was ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work.

The court heard that Williams and his team of sales reps operated from a rented office on Dale Street in Liverpool city centre and used contact lists traded with other fraudsters to pressure businesses into taking out adverts in “Emergency Services News”.

Williams and his operations manager Gayle Leahair were found guilty with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and fraudulent trading.

He added: “You have shown no remorse at all. It is highly probable you will offend in the same way. Your motive was greed and your method deception.”

To fulfil its promises to customers the crooks would have had to produce 1.2m copies of the magazine per year.

Ringleader George Williams

But, as part of a five-year investigation, they found Williams’ company only ever produced around 30,000 magazines.

One of those duped was a North West reflexologist who was offered a “special deal” which only “one person received in each region”.

After receiving a message on her mobile, she got in touch to ask about the offer.

She said: “I had to decide on the day for 10% discount – it was quite a lot of pressure but he sounded as if he knew what he was talking about.

“It wasn’t something I could easily do but I thought, if it’s with a reputable company and it gets clients, it’s worth a try.”

She paid several hundreds of pounds to a firm described as “professional” and “articulate” but hard to track.

Ringleader George Williams put out doctored publicity material of him superimposed in front of a BentleyRingleader George Williams put out doctored publicity material of him superimposed in front of a Bentley

She said: “It isn’t an awful lot of money, but it was at the time, it took quite a while to recover.

“It was a struggle initially but I look at it as a lesson, I can see why I fell for it.

“They are very unscrupulous, they don’t have any morals, don’t care about other people and what position they can put people in.”

The whole enterprise raked in £5.2m from Jan 2007 till March 2010 and police spoke to over 100 businesses who had been hit.

He spoke how a painter and decorator sold his van, his means of work, in order to pay the company after they threatened legal action.

DC Lee Egerton, who led the investigation, said: “They targeted people who did not dare to test their legitimacy.

“They were completely indiscriminate, as long as they were going to get a sale, then they everyone was potentially a victim for them.”

Leahair, 41, of Warrington Road, Prescot, and Joanne Martin, 48, of Grosvenor Road, Prescot, will be sentenced on February 25.

WERE you conned by the gang? Please email us at: visiternews@southportvisiter.co.uk